Miami-Dade property appraiser drops state complaint

@PatriciaMazzei

The Miami-Dade property appraiser has dropped a short-lived legal complaint against the state of Florida over an obscure rule the county argued slowed property-tax collections.

Acting Appraiser Lazaro Solis sent the Florida Department of Revenue a notice of voluntary dismissal Wednesday of his earlier complaint, filed 10 days earlier, challenging an administrative rule that allows people who have appealed their property assessments to continuously delay their appeals hearings.

Solis said Thursday he still believes the rule is unfair to his staffers who have to prepare for the same hearing sometimes several times and not reach a resolution for months -- delaying the certification of the tax roll that funds local governments.

But the county dropped the issue for now for strategic purposes after the Miami-Dade School Board was denied its request to participate in the complaint, Solis said. The county had been hoping for widespread support.

"I'm disappointed," Solis said. "We may consider filing again in the future."

Five candidates are running to be elected full-time property appraiser.